Just days before Mahalaya—which marks the beginning of 10 days of Durga Puja—on Saturday, 10 October, master sculptor Samir Paul sits at his studio in the bylanes of the famous Kumartuli Potters' Lane in Kolkata, swatting away nosy content creators and models coming to take photographs with unfinished idols of the gods and goddesses.
He tells The Quint that Kumartuli becomes a hotspot for photographers around this time of the year. But "Instagrammers this year came with a passionate disregard for their privacy", especially after the local administration scrapped the informal "fee" the artists could earlier charge for any photos or videos.
Having spent 30 years in this profession, Samir feels that this year, Durga Puja feels different—and it isn’t just the unhinged content creators. This year, the business has suffered.
“The TMC [Trinamool Congress] lost elections to the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party]. As a result, I have sold six idols less than last year,” he says with a chuckle.
"Our clients were all from the TMC or the Left. Some of their Pujas got cancelled this year, and some others are not organising. I've got 16 orders as opposed to 20 last year. At least two [orders] got cancelled after Khunti Puja [inaugural ritual marking Durga Puja preparations] had already happened."Samir Paul